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Terrene is a platform technology which aims to democratize the power of AI and machine learning by allowing nearly anyone to rapidly train and deploy deep learning data neural networks.

What does that mean exactly?

Well, machine learning and AI are powerful mechanisms which can harvest a ton of data and automate it in ways to improve business systems, processes, ect., and Terrene is making it available to those that aren’t experts in machine learning and AI, but that can reap many benefits from using it in their business. Terrene is working to empower specifically, business analysts and data scientists, by freeing up their time and providing them with the best possible information to automate and optimize business operations everyday.

The team behind the creation of this comprehensive (but easy to use) platform are three friends who met during their time studying at University of Waterloo. Francois, Kash and Cameron knew right away they wanted to develop something together using their skills in Nano Science and Science Computing. Initially just a passion project, looking at streamlining data analytics for people to use, they never imagined it would become the foundation of a business. Once they distilled the software’s focus on making data analytics and automated machine learning accessible to business analysts inside organizations, they decided to test it out with some potential clients.

First, they targeted charities, but found that with many charities competing for similar funding or minimal budget’s to invest in this service (however much it was needed and appreciated) it wasn’t a viable client focus to sustain a business. They did more research and switched gears, focusing on industrial companies. Companies already collecting large amount of data within their businesses, but with minimal to no systems in place to harness the power of that data and streamline it to improve business, Terrene found their sweet spot in the market.

Terrene’s automated technology collects data, assesses what the data is trying to predict, then with machine learning and automation helps to create efficiencies for the companies, for example, decreasing processing time, and other solutions depending on what their internal goals or current pain points are. The ideal clients are business analysts or data scientists who are already looking at the data, and often times are manually processing that data or using multiple tools to make sense of it. Terrene is a powerful tool to make their job easier by automating that process and giving them the information they need to make informed decisions, and to automate and optimize certain areas of the business.

When the business was first getting started, the team was accepted to the Tech Starters IOT Accelerator program, in New York, where they received 120K and worked around the clock everyday for three months. Cameron, Co-founder and COO recalls the intensity of the program, but also how it was essential for them to gain clarity and guidance on how to build out the product right out of the gate. After finishing up that program, they returned to Kitchener-Waterloo, and signed their first fortune 100 client.

Six months later, the team was accepted to the AC Jumpstart program, which allowed them to expand the team and gain access to invaluable mentorship which has helped them navigate further development of the product, building ou the team and acquiring more clients.

Forecasting into 2019, the team is preparing to raise a seed round of funding and are excited to jump back into sales mode, to grow the team more and to service more happy customers. They are proud to have achieved everything so far and are sticking to their ethos of “surviving on revenue, and growing on funding”.

Michael Cullen, Cofounder of Novalte, a monitored Smart Home Accessibility Technology company is no stranger to working with those who face everyday accessibility issues.

Born and raised in Ireland with 5 years professional experience working as a control engineer and then +10 years experience in healthcare as an accessibility consultant, Michael had not only the passion to make a positive change in the industry, but had the expertise to solve a big problem.

While Michael was working in Ireland as a Control’s engineer, he worked in Guatemala building two Hydro power stations there, it was there that he learned the positive effect technology can have in changing people’s lives. It was here that passion to drive change in the world with technology was ignited.

When he came to Canada in 2008, with the economy suffering and fewer job opportunities Michael was faced with possibility of needing to return to Ireland to find work. With a strong conviction that there was a bright future for him here in Canada, he decided to stay and took a job he didn’t love to make ends meet.

While sitting down having a coffee in Yonge and Dundas sq, he saw a gentleman struggling to walk with drop-foot, a condition that can affect someone after having a stroke. He had just purchased the first iphone at the time and knew that there was enough technology in that little device to help that lad walk and questioned “So, why aren’t we doing it?”

Michael made the career change to work as a rehab engineer at a kids rehab hospital in Toronto, “Bloorview Kids Rehab” and then a couple of year later changed to work at an adult rehab hospital. He was working part-time as an accessibility consultant and made the leap of faith to do it full-time and that is when Novalte was born and since has help over 350 people to live independently over his tenure in this field

One of the common challenges with applying tech solutions to accessibility problems is that each individual requires a custom solution.

“Seems like a ridiculous business model, having to customize a solution for each client… but I knew how technology could automate the process and allow us to provide solutions to hundreds and eventually thousands of people.”

Instead of trying to create a one-size-fits-all solution, Michael decided to build a system that is fully reconfigurable and modular that can be tailored to each individual’s custom mobility challenges via software remotely.

The technology works to create an “accessible smart home” for those with mobility concerns so they can live more independently in their daily life. Leveraging existing smart devices as well as Novalte’s own hardware, they have a single solution that combines these disjointed pieces together and make sure it works with their 24 hrs remote support.

“Picture the hub looks something like a cable box, it is installed in the customers home by one of our dealers. They also install the other parts of the puzzle to enable someone with mobility issues to live independently based on their needs. This is usually a combination of Novalte’s other peripherals and off the shelf consumer smart devices.

“The system can be either accessed by the user’s voice or by an accessible switch for individuals that are non-verbal. Once everything has been setup for the customer the system is connected to Novalte’s server which enables them to troubleshoot and change the system remotely. The Emitto system has the ability to do minor troubleshooting automatically. The system is designed to work with or without the internet, but once the Emitto detects that it doesn’t have connection to the internet it will automatically turn off the modem for a period of time and then turn it back on.”

Michael stated that the remote troubleshooting is their market differentiator. He said that while smart devices make the lives of abled bodied individuals easier, it enables a person with mobility challenges to live independently. So, when these devices that they rely on to get through everyday stop working it can really impede daily life for them. The Emitto takes all of this into account.

Novalte received a $100k from March of Dimes Canada to do a pilot study using their technology. The idea of the pilot study was to show that by using technology to improve quality of life for individuals with mobility challenges, organizations that provide attendant services can operate more efficiently.

It was joining the AC Jumpstart program that Michael says had a direct correlation to the company growth that occurred and continues to happen. “The ability to ask questions about what to do next in a strategic manner from experts that could guide us, instead of stumbling through it all ourselves had a significant impact on our business, and we are so grateful for it.”

Looking forward

In addition to growing the team in 2019, Michael looks forward to more pilot studies in Halifax, Winnipeg and Vancouver as well as building in additional functionalities to enable Novalte clients to live more independently.

“We are also building the ability to control more security functions in the home. Often people with accessibility issues will leave the doors open all day long because care workers come and go… but that leaves them vulnerable. So having the ability to lock and unlock the doors and to only let certain people in and out will significantly improve security, and we are really looking forward to introducing this feature”

When Soundscape.io founder and CEO, Jason Greenberg, graduated from Berklee College of Music, he found himself in Los Angeles, working as a film and TV composer. It was his dream job, but he quickly realized it didn’t feel right. Writing music in large quantities with quick turnarounds led to not just creative burnout, but a crisis of character as well.

A true advocate for the artistic expression and emotional connection that music evokes, he was left uninspired decided to make a change and create an affordable, subscription-based music licensing solution, that offers authentic, curated music for video production.

With the recent explosion in commercial online video production, Jason saw the need for a fully automated solution for film and video production. This led to the creation of Soundscape.io in 2017, an immeasurably deep music catalog featuring over 1,000 artists – all available in an easy-to-use, unlimited subscription model.

Valuing authenticity and quality over quantity, Soundscape.io contracts content from musicians and then helps license it out to their database of clients, splitting the profits with the artist and empowering them to add revenue streams to their business and gain exposure.

Designed with creatives in mind

When it comes to the customer experience, Soundscape.io has creative video and film producers in mind. The system is fully automated and puts forward relevant content making it easy for producers to find what they need. Utilizing a tiered pricing system, they can accommodate users from DIY vloggers all the way to large production houses who require larger volumes of work. made with their ideal customers in mind, which typically fit into the following three categories:

“There is no shortage of interest in licensing high quality music,” Jason says. “Especially with the increase of content creation and video being used online. Music is needed by everyone, whether a customer is a DIY’er or a big corporation, so we feel very grateful and proud to have created a platform to not only provide that to those interested in buying, but also empowering musicians to make money from their craft.”

In 2018, Soundscape received the AC JumpStart grant and joined the Accelerator Centre to accelerate the development of the technology and expanded their team; adding a head of Marketing and Sales with experience in music production and composition.

“The mentorship at the AC is unparalleled,” explains Jason. “With the help of AC JumpStart, we’ve been able to scale the business, increase revenue and solidify some of our biggest contracts yet. Looking ahead, we are exited to further develop the platform and grow our team.”

Musician or professional looking to license music can visit https://www.soundscape.io/ for more information or to get started on the platform!

Martin Basiri was a student in Iran when he came upon the inspiration for what would become an incredibly successful startup venture. Martin knew he wanted to study in Canada and was looking for the best possible place to advance his education.

There were many obstacles Martin had to overcome before being able to study in Canada, and the process wasn’t always easy. Not only did he need to apply for a visa, but he also needed to search for the best school and chose the program that best fit his career goals. Information on academic programming is sometimes fragmented, making it very challenging for prospective students to find the information they need.

With a firm belief that students everywhere have a right to the best possible education, Martin had high standards. Eventually, he chose the University of Waterloo based on its reputation for excellence and inclusive programming. Martin soon graduated with a Master’s in Mechatronics Engineering and began looking towards the next phase in his life – entrepreneurship.

Inspired by a passion for innovation and his experience immigrating to Canada, he set out to help his brothers get visas as well so they could join him in Canada to pursue his business idea. “It’s in my nature to build cool things”, says Martin. “I wanted to help my brothers with their visas. Using what I had learned, I was able to get their process down to only a few months.”

In 2011, the brothers got their visas and by 2015 they had used their combined experiences to create ApplyBoard, an artificial intelligence-enabled educational marketplace designed to help match international students with the best universities and programs that meet their unique needs.

“Our mission is to give people the power to access the best educational opportunities from around the world,” says Martin. “Students have a huge impact on the economy and we know students, particularly ones from diverse backgrounds, create a positive impact for a brighter future by combining their knowledge and skills with their cultural experiences. Canada is a welcoming community and it was the perfect place to launch ApplyBoard.”

The Technology

ApplyBoard is a solution-focused tech company revolutionizing the international student application process. Their product and expert staff connects with students worldwide, helping them find the best educational opportunities available to them, curated to fit their goals and preferences

ApplyBoard constructed its platform as a service (PaaS) with students and educational partners in mind. Its AI aligns the interests of students and partner schools by matching each student with their most suitable program. The platform is intuitive, personalized and designed to help everyone succeed.

ApplyBoard has partnered with over 800 institutions and is rapidly expanding their global presence.

The process starts with a screening with ApplyBoard experts to ensure the students are serious about looking to continue their education and helping them start to identify what they are looking for in an institution or an academic program. From there, students can submit their profile and information to the platform, and the AI will consider those inputs and suggest a list of highly correlated schools and programs.

The ApplyBoard team walks the student all the way through the process, including helping with visas and post grad work permits. The company has a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant on staff who is an expert on partnerships with universities and governments. This ensures ApplyBoard’s recommendations are up to date with any changes in legislation.

The platform has a 95% success rate attaching students to academic institutions.

The International Student Education Industry is impressive. In fact, it is the fourth largest export in the Canadian economy and ApplyBoard is responsible for contributing over $100 million to the Canadian economy so far. “In 2016, international students contributed $15.5 billion to the economy in tuition, books and accommodations.” says their PR Specialist Adrianna Dyczkowsky.

Early Support from Innovation Ecosystem

Along the way, the innovation ecosystem in Waterloo gave ApplyBoard a tremendous amount of support. “Velocity gave us a home and the Accelerator Centre helped us with our visas and gave us funding.” Martin recalls.

“With the help of Clinton Ball, [Director of Client Programs and Initiatives] and the staff in the AC’s Startup Visa Program, we were able to get Canadian permanent residency status in six months and through AC JumpStart we were able to get the critical funding to get us started.” Martin says.

“It would have been impossible to build ApplyBoard without the support of the AC to obtain permanent residency.”

“I met many times with Martin and the founding team,” recalls Clinton. “They showed real commitment to growing their company, and every time we would have a coffee they had more business traction. We are happy to see the team and business growing, and this is a great example of how the Startup Visa program is helping build Canadian technology companies.”

A Growing Team with Their Eye on the Future

From the initial team of brothers: Martin Basiri, CEO; Meti Basiri, Co-Founder and CMO; and Massi Basiri, COO, the team has grown to 75 people and continues on a growth trajectory.

Diversity is a key pillar of their talent strategy. In an industry where typically only 22% of women are represented in the tech workforce, 50% of ApplyBoard’s team are women.

In the coming months, ApplyBoard will be moving into a new, larger office in Kitchener-Waterloo and growing its existing international presence in India, China, Vietnam and Nepal. The company will also be attending various global industry conferences and local events in the near future with the goal of sharing its story and expanding its customer base. Martin sums up ApplyBoard’s goals well, “Students are the future, and the journey begins now. Student by student we are helping thousands of people realize their dreams: attending the best schools while building a better future for the world.”

Elucid Labs is one of Waterloo region’s fastest growing medtech companies and they are changing the way we see disease, literally.

Their AI dermatology assistant (AIDA™) is an AI powered computational imaging device that has transformed the detection and early diagnosis of skin cancer and other diseases – providing non invasive testing and clinical decision support that reduces the number of unnecessary tests and biopsies.

“We want machines and humans to work together for improved performance,” says co-founder Dr. Farnoud Kazemzadeh. “The revolutionary technology enables unique AI-powered deep tissue analysis allowing the physicians to ‘see’ below the surface of the skin and detects skin cancer without performing a biopsy – making it a game changer for point-of-care impact assessment.”

Their Story

As an astrophysicist, Farnoud studied the stars and focused on how he could make an impact globally as a scientist. His expertise in optics and photonics was a natural stepping stone into biomedical imaging.

Inspired by the gaps in the medical system, Farnoud began looking into better ways to detect skin cancer.

“The instances of skin cancer are on the rise worldwide,” says Farnoud. “Skin cancer instances worldwide are actually greater than the other most frequent cancers combined. But access to specialist care depends on where you are located. In some cases, you may be waiting a year to see a specialist and that may be too long of a wait.”

In May of 2017, Farnoud pulled together an interdisciplinary team that includes respected Ph.Ds Alexander Wong and Iman Khodadad. Together, they formed Elucid Labs. Using an instrument that had originally been designed for astronomy, they built their first device and began testing.

Shortly after, they received the AC JumpStart seed funding grant and started receiving mentorship from the Accelerator Centre team.

“The AC has been great to us. The funding and mentorship have been instrumental in helping us to build Elucid into the company it is today. It’s always nice to have those checks and balances with the mentors. Every time we go to the AC we learn something new.”

A chat with Farnoud:

What are your goals with Elucid Labs?

With many people waiting too long for specialist care, our goal is to bring lab-grade testing as well as tertiary and secondary specialist care, to the primary care level so patients can receive accurate diagnoses and start getting the treatment they need as soon as possible.

What are some of your challenges working in a highly regulated space?

The space we operate in is highly regulated for good reasons, healthcare isn’t improved by building an app. Dealing with the FDA or Health Canada and the stacks of paperwork, takes a lot of effort, but it is a necessary step to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of a medical device. While it can be a challenge, the function is absolutely necessary and we are happy to take part in the process.

As a founder, how do you keep yourself motivated?

What motivates me is being able to somehow make a positive difference in this world, however small. Myself and my co-founder have decided that building Elucid was how we could do that. Personally, my family is a great motivation as I’d like to be able to create a better world for them.

Do you have mentors who helped you to succeed and get where you are today?

Absolutely, I have different mentors for different areas of my life. I think it is important to have people around you who support you and who you can relate to and at times rely upon. Although my wife is not my mentor, she’s my best friend and her support is incredibly important. On the business side, whether it is mentors at work, through the AC, or peer mentors, it is good to have people around you who have walked the path before you and can support you along the way.

Will you be attending any conferences in the next year?

The next year is going to be a very exciting year for Elucid. We are going to conferences in Ireland, China, Australia, and a few in the US. It’s going to be a great showcase of our technology and an opportunity to bring more partners on board.

What is the future of Elucid Labs?

We’re on a good track to be on the US market in six months with our first version of the product. In the next year, we will be increasing our customer base and adding more features and building on the AI technology.

We are also growing the company and are always on the hunt for capable and hard-working individuals who share our vision in trying to change the world for the better. We are projecting to double the size of the team by the end of next year. By that time we will be moving into our own space with dedicated manufacturing and lab facilities in Waterloo.

We want to stay in Waterloo because exciting things are happening in tech and AI here and we want to be a part of that. As well, we would want to stay close to the world-class talent at the University of Waterloo as well as the community who supports us.

In five years, I can see us expand beyond the application of dermatology into further reaching medical uses, improving our healthcare systems. We will always be thinking about how our academic research can impact mankind and make a difference in the world.

As the doors open to the warehouse of STAC Performance’s manufacturing and assembling facility in New Hamburg, you see a perfectly stacked row of their new bike trainers ready to ship out. Just released last month, they are flying off of the shelves. Significant pre-orders for their new product have rolled in after the traction they received as guest exhibitors for the Eurobike Conference in Germany last month. This is the world’s largest bike show with over 1,300 exhibitors and 50K attendees and they won the award for the new trainer – The Zero Halcyon Smart Trainer.

At Eurobike, the team attended the exclusive Zwift Summit – hosted by Zwift and invite only – where industry players have confidential discussions. “We met with lots of media, distributors and other industry players throughout the 3-day conference. We had a lot of booth traffic from people who saw our trainer in the Awards display area. Eurobike is an industry bike show that is not open to the general public. It’s designed for companies to meet with each other and understand the latest trends and products,” co-founder Shane Pegg recounts.

“The Stac Zero is a textbook example of innovation through simplification.” -Zwift Insider

Last fall they also won the Interbike Award at the largest bike show in North America, for their Virtual Wind Tunnel service. Their service provides 3D scanning, aerodynamic analysis and reporting. A fluid dynamicist Ph.D. analyzes the reports and then advice from the STAC team is given to triathletes and cyclists. The service is licensed and offered by coaches and bike fitters globally and allows athletes and cyclists to compare themselves to other riders while using Zwift. Currently, they have partners in 6 countries offering the service.

The Team

Andrew Buckrell started the company with a Kickstarter fund back in June 2016. STAC was able to get funding from 158 backers to raise $68,350 CAD to help bring this project to life. Soon after they also received $30,000 in funding from ACJumpstart that has helped them get on track to becoming one of the next big Canadian manufacturing companies in the Waterloo region. “The AC and the seed funding grant provided us with lots of great support from the all-star team of mentors,” says Shane.

The STAC team is a mix of Engineers and Business partners from UW and WLU. Andrew Buckrell (engineering) came up with the original concept and is finishing up a Ph.D. in Fluid Dynamics at UW. Art Hare (software) is a Computer/Math grad from UW. Shane Pegg, a WLU Business Grad, and Sean Peterson who also has a Ph.D. in Fluid Dynamics round off the team.

The Product

“The STAC Zero can be summed up as Zero Noise. Zero Tire Wear, Smart Trainer. Through a unique arrangement of magnets interacting with your brake rim, it creates resistance while avoiding all the problems with conventional trainers,” Shane explains.

Photo Credit: Logan Fuller

It’s a wheel-on trainer, but there’s no contact between the wheel and the trainer. As a result, it’s the ultimate sound-free trainer. It’s also one of the most affordable trainers on the market with a built-in powermeter. Most importantly, it does not wear out your tires and your bike is always 10 seconds from being road-ready. Because there are no moving parts, it will never wear out or require maintenance.

Their slogan is “STAC Zero – letting people train while their family sleeps – says it all. This is the World’s Quietest Bike Trainer. Zero Noise. How did they accomplish that? – the beauty of electromagnetic force! The way this trainer works is by using magnets.

Eddy currents result in a resisting motion on the electrical conductor. In the Zero’s case, the conductor is your wheel, and it results in a silent, zero-contact bike trainer. Eddy currents are also used to stop roller coasters and thrill rides.

The powermeter model uses a measurement of force on the magnet array in order to determine how much power the rider is putting out. Power is simply force multiplied by speed, and the beauty of the STAC Zero Powermeter is that it does not require any wear parts that heat up or stretch during usage: no belts, no tires, no chains in the mechanism means a minimal need to recalibrate over time and unparalleled consistency.

Made in Canada at their factory in New Hamburg, they have sold trainers to 40 countries and counting.

Photo Credit: Logan Fuller

Size

You could store it in a tiny bachelor apartment as the kit folds flat easily and can slide under your couch. You could take it in a suitcase and fly with it around the globe. It’s only 3 inches tall.

Portability

The new trainer is 100% portable and lightweight. At 17 pounds it’s much lighter than other trainers, making it simple to travel to work or further. Shane tells the story of one customer who was able to transport it easily in his vehicle and carry it to his campsite to set it up on an outdoor rock surface.

The Future

STAC is currently fundraising $500K from investors with the goal of being able to provide innovative, outside-the-box products and services that open up new possibilities for cyclists.

From the STAC Zero letting people train while their family sleeps to the Virtual Wind Tunnel that lets athletes learn their CdA at their local bike shop, they are excited to bring to market many more exciting concepts. Digitalization and electrification are mega-trends that have a sustainable impact on the future of the global bike industry, and STAC will be shaping that future.

A hundred people were watching as Hadi Hosseinzadeh Khaligh took the stage.

His challenge: to explain his materials science PhD thesis about silver nanowires and their deficiencies. To a general audience. In just three minutes.

He was participating in a competition called the Three Minute Thesis (also known as 3MT). “That was my first pitch,” he remembers. “I went with my passion about my research.”

Since then, he’s pitched many more times, but in a completely different way. Instead of a general audience, he’s talking to investors and electronics manufacturers around the world. And instead of his thesis, he’s talking about NanoCnet, a Velocity Fund-winning company with a new way of manufacturing conductive materials and film – “using them as the coat to make transparent surfaces like glass and plastic conductive,” he explains.

It all ties back to his PhD research, though, and the work cofounder Ehsan Mazbanrad was doing with silver nanoparticles. “We knew that the materials we have right now are expensive, some of them are not flexible, or they degrade fast. All of these problems limit the performance of future devices,” says Hadi.

“So we synthesized a new material. We changed the process fundamentally to make a new kind of silver nanoparticles . . . We introduced a new generation.”

But starting a company wasn’t always his goal. He talks passionately about his love for education, and originally planned to stay in academia after finishing his PhD, as a professor. (Ehsan planned to do the same, too.)

During his undergraduate program in material science at the University of Tehran, he also taught physics. When he came to the University of Waterloo for his masters in electrical engineering, he became an active TA – even winning an award for his efforts in his final year. When he was completing his PhD, he spent two semesters as a sessional lecturer teaching first and second year physics courses.

That was on top of his own research for his degrees.

During his first year as a master’s candidate, Hadi met a professor on campus who specialized in materials science. He reached out. “I started as her first student, and we started with an empty lab,” he says.

Starting from scratch proved to be a challenge in some unexpected, but satisfying, ways. Not only did he know he’d have to push himself harder in his studies, but he learned how to network and hustle for lab equipment and time to get his research done – something not many folks in academia get to experience.

The Three Minute Thesis was another break from traditional academic life. “I think the graduate students in master’s and PhD are not really interested, or they don’t feel that, if they go and talk to a general audience, they can explain what they do,” he says. “So it was really good challenge, that I could explain my research in three minutes in a way that everyone understands.”

The decision to start a business came when the two cofounders were discussing their research.

Hadi was focused on the deficiencies of the materials we have today, while Ehsan was working on synthesizing new ones. “We ended up thinking, we could work together to solve the problem.”

Stepping away from academia, the pair have had to think about their approach in a different way. “When you are in a research environment, you only think about research,” he says. “I learned that you need to focus on what you have, and the problem you’re solving, what you’re selling, the market.

“In research, sometimes, we don’t really know if it’s scalable, or even how important it is for the industry. We do research because we are interested in that area.”

While they’re experts in the materials and manufacturing process they’re working with, turning it into a business was something they didn’t get in their classroom experience. For that, Hadi says they turned to local support from professors, the Accelerator Centre, and Velocity Garage.

At first it was a challenge. There were lots of terms and strategies that were new. But it wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. Remember when he had to find access to lab space for his research?

“Since I got used to talking to people from different areas and other research groups, I think it was less challenging because I had this experience talking to people and getting their advice,” he says.

And the most important thing: he truly wanted to learn. “When you need to learn something, you learn it much faster than when you think that you should go to class and maybe you want to learn it,” he says. “I felt that way, that I need it, so I put myself in a position to push myself to learn all these things.”

It was the same way Hadi pushed himself to give that Three Minute Thesis. And for those counting, he did indeed take home a $1,000 prize – but got so much more in return by learning to pitch.

“The good part of it, after you’re done, you get some good feedback,” he says. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that you get the $25,000 or $10,000 or whatever, but if you got good feedback and you feel that people understand your work, you feel pretty confident about telling the story and talking to other people in the business world.”

Waterloo-based ApplyBoard, an AI-enabled marketplace that allows international students to apply to study at higher education institutions around the world, has raised a $17 million Series A CAD.

The funding was led by Artiman Ventures, with follow-on investments from early investors 500 Startups, Candou Ventures, Think+, and others.

Launched in 2015, ApplyBoard aims to change the application process for international students. The company’s platform curates a student’s profile based on their academic background, desired program of study, and financial situation. Using AI, the platform then matches students with a list of correlated schools and programs.

The company says that by pre-vetting applications and advising students in the Visa process results in a 95 percent acceptance rate.

To date, ApplyBoard said it has partnered with 750 high schools, colleges, and universities across North America.

“There is a massively underserved market for international study,” said Martin Basiri, CEO and co-founder of ApplyBoard. “Millions encounter the same problem, such as collecting the required documents and securing a student visa, every year. The company was built from my own experiences and challenges as an international student. We created ApplyBoard to offer our expertise and help other students with their application process.”

ApplyBoard said it plans to use the funding towards growing the company and further developing its platform. The company’s broader goal is to make education accessible to students around the world, regardless of their nationality or location.

“The majority of the seven million international students will struggle to find their ideal colleges, and instead will select where they spend the next four years and potentially the rest of their lives, based upon internet searches and random chance,” said Akhil Saklecha, partner at Artiman Ventures. “ApplyBoard applies technology to a very manual process, creating a highly efficient application solution for students and colleges globally.”

Tesla’s Elon Musk and Facebook‘s Mark Zuckerberg each aim to create the world’s first brain-computer interface — devices that put the functionality of a laptop in your head.

But those devices would require invasive brain surgery and are unlikely to become available in the immediate future.

In the meantime, a startup called Nuro could beat them to the punch with a simpler piece of software.

Two minds may be better than one, but one mind connected to millions of others would be infinitely superior.

That’s the thinking behind several companies that are currently racing to link mind and machine by way of devices called brain-computer interfaces. The first to put the functionality of a laptop in your head would pave the way for people to communicate seamlessly, instantly, and with whomever — or whatever — they want.

So far, two figures are publicly leading that race: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Their clandestine projects, known as Neuralink and Building 8, respectively, focus on approaches that will require brain surgery, according to researchers familiar with their efforts.

But there’s a less ambitious and less invasive way to tackle the brain-computer interface problem. It involves translating data from brainwaves into simple commands that can be processed in an app or device. A startup called Nuro is taking this route. It hopes its software platform can give the ability to communicate back to people who’ve lost it as a result of severe injury or disease.

Outside researchers say the approach is simpler and less functional than invasive approaches, but easier to put into practice.

If Nuro’s product succeeds in that initial market, the company plans to expand the technology and test it more broadly in cars and homes. As a result, the company could shape the broader future of technologies that link mind and brain.

Communicating with thoughts

Nuro/Francois Gand

In April, Nuro opened up for the first time about a version of its software called Nuos, which is designed to give a voice to people who’ve experienced spinal cord injuries or other major illnesses and can’t communicate as they once did.

Nuro CEO and founder Francois Gand envisions the system for use first in a hospital or intensive-care setting. It could allow so-called “locked in” patients to do things like ask for a glass of water or play music on an Amazon Echo smart speaker.

Gand has test-driven his tool in at least one person with a severe brainstem disorder, and recently showed me how a Nuro user could interact with the technology using a tablet. A black and teal screen is divided into tiles with icons and pre-written messages displaying basic commands like “I need water” or “I’m feeling cold.” By focusing intently on a given icon or piece of text, a user can select that tile.

It’s the same idea used in neurofeedback, a practice in which people use real-time displays of brain activity to do things like play basic video games in order to better regulate their brainwaves.

Nuos users could even use that technique to type custom messages using a keyboard on the screen.

An OS that runs on brainwaves

Computer interfaces powered by brainwaves aren’t completely new.

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Before Stephen Hawking settled on the Intel setup he primarily used to communicate, he tested several EEG-based caps. But because of his age and the severity of his condition, the caps couldn’t get a strong enough brain signal to function properly.

“Development of a brain-computer interface technology that does not replace but complement[s] existing therapies is a…promising field,” the authors wrote.

But Gand envisions Nuro’s technology — which is essentially an operating system, or OS, that runs on brainwaves — extending far beyond a hospital, to people’s homes and even cars. That’s something automakers are interested in. In January, the Nissan revealed it was working on helping drivers avoid crashes using EEG data.

“Fundamentally, we’re an OS company,” Gand said.

Investors see Nuro’s potential to expand, too. The company, whose team is based in Waterloo, Canada and San Francisco, California, got a $100,000 grant from Google to build a part of its system in the Google Cloud platform. Nuro also recently got $250,000 in seed funding from Silicon Valley biotech accelerator IndieBio, and $40,000 ($31,000 USD) from Canadian startup hub Waterloo Accelerator Centre. And it won two MIT competitions (Hacking Medicine and the MIT Barracuda Bowl) at the South by Southwest festival, which brought in $7,500.

Karen Moxon, who runs a lab focused on brain-computer interfaces at the University of California, Davis, told Business Insider that she’s not surprised by Gand’s vision. A less invasive and more user-friendly brain-computer interface is ripe terrain for future advancements.

But Moxon expressed concern about some of the technical and financial roadblocks Gand might face, such as raising and making enough money to stay financially viable over the long term.

“This has been done well by gobs of people — but in a laboratory setting,” she said. “Being able to do it isn’t surprising; translating it to a company that can be financially viable is another.”

The race toward a superpower: Where Neuralink and Facebook are headed

As our smartphones grow smaller and more advanced, we grow increasingly dependent upon the services they provide. (Not convinced? Try taking your next trip without opening Google Maps.)

Elon Musk. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Devices embedded in our bodies and brains are a logical next step.

Zuckerberg said last year that Facebook is working on brain-computer interface technology that “one day will let you communicate using only your mind.”

Whether the first brain-computer interface runs on EEG or something harder to access, the first company to nail that technology could rocket decades into the future.

“Just being able to communicate at the speed of a BCI without having to speak or type would have a radical effect,” a former Neuralink employee who asked to remain anonymous told Business Insider. “It’s not so much a race to a long-term goal as much as it is a race to a near-term goal in which somebody gains a metaphorical superpower that enables them to start accelerating faster than anyone could catch up.”

Musk and Zuckerberg have both kept details about their progress toward achieving this superpower under wraps.

But there are some clues. Several former Neuralink employees told Business Insider that they were engaged in building microchips and small electronics that could eventually be tested on animals. They said employees of Neuralink have frequently interacted with people researching the subject of animal testing.

Andy Fell, a communications director at the University of California, Davis, confirmed to Business Insider that several university employees were actively working with Neuralink on research projects using mice.

Facebook, meanwhile, does not yet seem to have plans to open an animal-testing facility in California, according to a public records request filed by Business Insider with the California Department of Health.

Given how little we know about the brain, experts say it’s unlikely that we’ll see an invasive, surgery-based BCI used on a person within the next few years.

That’s where Nuro comes in.

“We want to be as safe as possible. We’re not inclined to open up the brain. For some people who might ask, ‘are we hacking the brain?’ doing it non-invasively kind of solves that issue,” Gand said.

From hospitals to homes: Bringing apps into the Nuro ecosystem

In addition to allowing “locked-in” patients to communicate, Gand’s Nuro system is set up to give doctors or physicians access to a separate interface from the one users see. That would allow for remote monitoring of people with a severe injury or those at risk of a stroke.

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The software is also capable of passively collecting data on brain activity, including the various levels of brain waves linked with alertness and sleep.

The Nuro system could therefore detect aberrant patterns of brain-wave activity, like those exhibited by people at risk for neurological problems like stroke, Gand said. Health professionals monitoring the situation remotely could use those observations to inform decisions about calling for emergency assistance.

But Gand hopes that if his OS moves beyond the medical setting, people using Nuro within the home would have access to a wider range of EEG-enabled activities than someone in the hospital.

Home users could eventually see features designed to speed up the communication process, such as a faster and more dynamic keyboard that could be used in conjunction with applications like news apps and social-media platforms. In the future, Gand also envisions developers creating versions of their apps that are compatible with the Nuro ecosystem, just as they currently are with Android or iOS.

“We can also give you the ability to have your app controlled neurologically,” Gand said.

If you’ve ever wanted to volunteer for a non-profit organization, you know it can be challenging to find the right person to reach out to. And if you’ve ever planned a not-for-profit event, you know that finding partners and volunteers to help you make your vision a reality can be hard too. That is the challenge that the Epcoh team hopes to solve by connecting non-profits with industry and individuals looking to give back to their community. The hope is the platform will encourage more volunteerism in the region and around the world.

The platform works by utilizing not-for-profit profiles that list volunteer opportunities for businesses in the region and matching that with profiles from corporations and individuals based on their interests, what they’re passionate about, their availability and what type of work they’d like to. Epoch then curates opportunities that match individuals, and offers a bi-weekly or monthly schedule of available volunteers, fostering more long-term volunteerism relationships.

A tight-knit team

Jade Choy began her journey in 2017 when she graduated from University of Waterloo and was introduced to an opportunity to compete for the $1,000,000 Hult prize. Jade and her team went through the program not really expecting to get into the second round let alone the finals. They ended up being in the semi-final in the UK, which then landed them in a one-year program in Boston where they were able to build out their platform. This past September, the team pitched in New York City for the finals among six other companies. Although the team did not take the grand prize home, they learned a great deal and were able to take those learnings to grow the company into what it is today.

The team consists of Jade and 6 other individuals including her brother, a recent UW design graduate, and five other UW students who are working on the platform part-time. All of the team is like-minded, highly-skilled and very excited about the work they’re doing. When we asked Jade how it is working with her brother, she laughed and said,

“ It’s really great and funnily enough I think we were conditioned to do this. Growing up we were always close, both in age being 13 months apart, and due to our interests and passions. As kids, we always had tennis lessons, swimming, hangouts, excetera together, probably because it was convenient for our parents to put us in the same activities — but being together so often like that made us very close, making it easy to communicate. It was as if we were in training. So yeah, it’s really good we communicate well and I have a lot of fun working together.”

Jade and the founding team, including her brother decided ultimately to come back to Kitchener Waterloo to grow their company.

“Looking at the tech ecosystem here, the openness to innovation, the interest in giving back, the number of not-for-profits also open to innovation, and the need to connect more businesses with them in the region made our decision to come here a no-brainer!”

What’s Next

In October of 2017, Epoch received $30,000 in seed funding from the Accelerator Centre’s AC JumpStart program to help them continue to build and grow the platform. Currently, Epoch works with several not-for-profits in the region, including the Downtown Kitchener Library and the YMCA bringing those organization together with the community to foster a collaborative community culture. “I wanted to make sure that our platform wasn’t a standalone form but rather that it integrated into systems that employees are and not-for-profits are reusing in their day-today lives, making it easy to volunteer and find information about how to volunteer,” Jade says. “Epoch is meant to facilitate meaningful partnerships and we are proud of the work that’s already being done in the beta program.“

Currently, the not-for-profits Epoch is partnered up with, are those who are looking for volunteers that are skill-based and that would need minimal additional training. The platform is not yet working with organizations that serve vulnerable groups, due to the additional procedures, background checks and training that volunteers will need to work with them. However, those groups are on their roadmap to start beta testing the platform soon. The team will launch the pilot project with two to three not-for-profits right here in Waterloo region.

“The whole purpose of our company is to make giving back time-energy-skills on a volunteer basis easy. We want to facilitate more meaningful connections, because if someone has some extra energy after their work day and they want to volunteer their time, what we’ve seen is that a lot of those individuals will go to not-for-profit website message forms to look for opportunities and it’s actually very difficult to find the information and by the time that they are aligned and ready to do the volunteering, their availability has changed.

We need to change the system so that it empowers more people to do what they want to do when they have the availability and we are determined to make this a tool that can empower social impact in our community, work and beyond.”

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